U.S. patent number 6,230,908 [Application Number 09/388,130] was granted by the patent office on 2001-05-15 for flow rack with reverse flow limiting device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dell USA, L.P.. Invention is credited to Stephen Gill, Mark Manley, Roy Rachui, Robert C. Sloan.
United States Patent |
6,230,908 |
Sloan , et al. |
May 15, 2001 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Flow rack with reverse flow limiting device
Abstract
A flow rack including a frame with a plurality of elongated
channels attached to the frame. Each channel includes two spaced
apart sides and a base wall extending between the sides. A
plurality of rollers is movably mounted in each one of the
channels. A portion of each roller extends above the respective
channel at a first height. A reverse flow stop is pivotally mounted
within each channel for movement between a stop position and a flow
position. Each stop includes a stop arm. A weighted portion is
attached to each stop for automatically biasing each stop to the
stop position whereby the respective stop arm extends above the
respective channel at a second height, greater than the first
height. When the stop is in the flow position, the stop arm extends
above the channel at a height equal to or less than the first
height.
Inventors: |
Sloan; Robert C. (Round Rock,
TX), Manley; Mark (Leander, TX), Gill; Stephen (Round
Rock, TX), Rachui; Roy (Georgetown, TX) |
Assignee: |
Dell USA, L.P. (Round Rock,
TX)
|
Family
ID: |
23532832 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/388,130 |
Filed: |
September 1, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
211/151;
193/35A |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
1/023 (20130101); B65G 1/08 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65G
1/02 (20060101); B65G 1/08 (20060101); B65G
1/06 (20060101); A47F 005/08 () |
Field of
Search: |
;211/151,59.2,183,186,153,175 ;414/267,273,276,286
;198/781.01,739,744,746,783 ;193/35A,35R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Stodola; Daniel P.
Assistant Examiner: Novosad; Jennifer E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Haynes and Boone, LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A flow rail assembly comprising:
an elongated channel;
a plurality of rollers movably mounted in the channel, a portion of
each roller extending above the channel at a first height; and
a reverse flow stop having a first end including a stop arm, the
stop being pivotally mounted in the channel for movement between a
stop position and a flow position, the stop having a second end
including a weighted portion responsive to gravitational force
urging the stop towards the stop position whereby the stop arm
extends above the channel at a second height, which is greater than
the first height.
2. The flow rail assembly of claim 1 wherein the stop arm and the
weighted portion are integrally formed.
3. The flow rail assembly of claim 1 wherein the stop includes two
opposing pins pivotally attached to the channel.
4. The flow rail assembly of claim 3 wherein the channel includes a
plurality of opposed saddles, each pin being mounted in a
respective one of the opposed saddles.
5. The flow rail assembly of claim 3 wherein the weighted portion
is positioned within the channel when the stop is in the stop
position.
6. The flow rail assembly of claim 1 further comprising a rotation
limiter attached to the stop.
7. The flow rail assembly of claim 6 wherein the rotation limiter,
the stop arm and the weighted position are integrally formed.
8. The flow rail assembly of claim 1 wherein the stop is mounted
adjacent to an end of the channel.
9. The flow rail assembly of claim 1 wherein the stop arm extends
above the channel at a third height which is less than the first
height when the stop is in the flow position.
10. A flow rack assembly, comprising:
a frame;
a plurality of elongated channels attached to the frame, each
channel including two spaced apart sides and a base wall extending
between the sides;
a plurality of rollers movably mounted in each one of the channels,
a portion of each roller extending above the respective channel at
a first height; and
a reverse flow stop pivotally mounted within each one of the
channels for movement between a stop position and a flow position,
each stop having a first end including a stop arm, the stop having
a second end including a weighted portion responsive to
gravitational force urging the stop towards the stop position,
whereby the stop arm extends above the respective channel at a
second height, which is greater than the first height.
11. The flow rack assembly of claim 10 wherein the flow rack
assembly has a front end and a back end, at least a portion of each
stop being mounted in the respective channel adjacent to the back
end of the assembly.
12. The flow rack assembly of claim 10 wherein the stop arm and the
weighted portion of each stop are integrally formed.
13. The flow rack assembly of claim 10 wherein each stop includes
two opposing pins pivotally attached to the respective channel.
14. The flow rack assembly of claim 13 wherein each channel
includes a plurality of opposed saddles, the pins of each stop
being mounted in opposed saddles of the respective channel.
15. The flow rack assembly of claim 13 wherein the weighted portion
of a respective stop is positioned between the respective stop arm
and the base wall of the respective channel when the respective
stop is in the stop position.
16. The flow rack assembly of claim 15 further comprising a
rotation limiter attached to each stop.
17. The flow rack assembly of claim 16 wherein the rotation
limiter, the stop arm and the weighted portion of each stop are
integrally formed.
18. The flow rack assembly of claim 16 wherein each rotation
limiter is rotatable toward the base wall in response to the stop
being rotated to the flow position.
19. The flow rack assembly of claim 10 wherein the stop arm of each
one of the stops extends above the respective channel at a height
approximately the same as the first height when the respective stop
is in the flow position.
20. A method of limiting flow on a flow rail assembly in a reverse
direction, comprising the steps of:
movably mounting a plurality of rollers in an elongated channel
with a portion of each roller extending above the channel at a
first height;
pivotally mounting a reverse flow stop having a first end including
a stop arm in the channel such that the stop is movable between a
stop position and a flow position; and
attaching a weighted portion to a second end of the stop, the
weighted portion being responsive to gravitational force urging the
stop towards the stop position whereby the stop arm extends above
the channel at a second height, which is greater than the first
height.
21. The method as defined in claim 20 wherein the step of movably
mounting rollers includes the step of providing opposed first
saddles in the channel for receiving the rollers.
22. The method as defined in claim 21 wherein the step of pivotally
mounting the stop includes the step of providing opposed second
saddles in the channel for receiving the stop.
Description
BACKGROUND
The disclosure herein relates generally to flow rack systems and
more particularly to a gravity flow rack with a reverse flow
limiting device.
Gravity flow racks are often used in warehouse and manufacturing
environments. They provide an effective solution for transporting,
storing and dispensing packaged and containerized goods. They are
preferred in many applications because they reduce floor space,
decrease restocking time and provide for a more efficient flow of
goods through a work stream.
A typical gravity flow rack includes a frame with a plurality of
flow rails mounted to the frame. The flow rack has a front end
where items are removed from the flow rack and a back end where
items are placed onto the flow rails. The flow rails are spaced
apart and mounted at a downward angle such that the ends of the
flow rails adjacent to the front end of the flow rack are at a
lower elevation than the end of the flow rails adjacent to the back
end of the flow rack. The items that are closest to the front of
the flow rack rest under the force of gravity against a retention
member that is attached to the flow rack adjacent to the front
end.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,203 discloses an un-driven gravity roller
conveyor in which a plurality of discrete, elongate channel members
are attached in a spaced-apart, parallel relationship to a base
structure. The separation between neighboring channel members is
made equal to the separation between the opposite side walls of
each channel member, thereby providing a plurality of rows
extending between the side walls of the channel members. Open slots
equidistantly spaced apart are formed along the upper edges of each
side wall. The slots are aligned in parallel columns substantially
perpendicular to the length of the rows. Load-bearing rollers
mounted upon axles are arranged in rows both between the opposite
side walls in each channel member and between adjacent side walls
of neighboring pairs of channel members, with the axles of the
rollers held within the slots. The spacing between slots is
substantially less than one-half of the exterior diameter of the
rollers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,518 discloses a material flow rail construction
of the type employed to transport containers or articles from one
location to another using the force of gravity. The improved
material flow rail comprises a substantially U-shaped channel
within which a multiplicity of mounting bolts is attached.
Individual bearing assemblies are placed on the mounting bolts. By
placing the individual bearing assemblies closely adjacent one
another in a longitudinal direction with respect to the support
channel, the flow rail has the ability to transport parts having
very small "footprint" areas because a large space between rollers
is not presented for parts or components thereof to become caught.
By providing a loose fit between the bearing inner races and the
supporting mounting bolts, the inner race is permitted to rotate
slightly with respect to the mounting bolts thereby presenting new
wear surfaces as the flow rail is put into use. Additionally, a
loose fit may be provided between the mounting bolts and the
support channel to permit the latter to rotate with respect to the
former, also presenting new wear surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,780 discloses a storage rack structure of the
gravity feed type having inclined storage racks carried between
front and rear vertical standards. Items such as pallets, carrying
cases and the like are loaded from the rear for gravity feed to the
front. The flow rails are hung within a channel of a front facing
rail having a back web providing an abutment for stopping the
pallets, and include a raised abutment at the rear end thereof
providing a fulcrum about which each pallet initially impacts and
pivots for loading onto the flow rail.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,275 discloses a set of constructional elements
which may be combined to define conveyor devices, such as roller
trains, continuously running shelves, and band conveyors, etc. The
set of constructional elements includes elongated, generally
U-shaped support frames having slit and T-shaped recesses therein,
and cooperating fittings adapted to be inserted into the slits and
capable of supporting the roller elements. The constructional
elements may be assembled in varied configurations to define the
desired conveyor device.
A common problem with flow racks is that a container full of items,
some of them fragile and expensive, may be pushed off the back end
of the flow rack when containers are stacked along the entire
length of the flow rails. This typically occurs when the frontmost
container is being removed. To remove the front container, the
front container and any containers stacked behind the front
container must be pushed in a reverse direction to release the
frontmost container from against the retention member. If a
container is too close to the back end of the rack and it is pushed
back far enough, it will fall off of the flow rack. This can result
in damage to the items in the fallen container.
Accordingly, a need has arisen for a flow rack including a reverse
flow limiting device that overcomes the shortcomings of previous
flow rack constructions and techniques.
SUMMARY
One embodiment, accordingly, provides a reverse flow limiting
device that may be attached to a flow rail. To this end, one
embodiment provides a flow rail assembly including an elongated
channel with a plurality of rollers movably mounted in the channel.
A portion of each roller extends above the channel at a first
height. A reverse flow stop including a stop arm is pivotally
mounted in the channel for movement between a stop position and a
flow position. A weighted portion is attached to the stop for
automatically biasing the stop to the stop position whereby the
stop arm extends above the channel at a second height. The second
height is greater than the first height.
A principal advantage is that the reverse flow stop may be
retrofitted to existing flow rails.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a flow
rack.
FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of a flow rack
with a stop in a flow position.
FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating an embodiment of a flow rack
with the stop in a stop position.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a stop
arm and roller mounted in a flow rail.
FIG. 5 is a partial side view illustrating an embodiment of
relative stop arm heights and roller height extending above the
flow rail.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
An embodiment of a flow rack 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. The flow
rack 10 has a front end 12 and a back end 14. The flow rack 10
includes a frame 15 having a plurality of legs 16, a plurality of
reinforcing members 17 and a plurality of support members 18. The
reinforcing members 17 and the support members 18 are attached to
the legs 16.
A plurality of spaced apart flow rails 20, FIG. 1, are attached to
the support members 18. Each flow rail 20 has a first end 20a
attached adjacent to the front end 12 of the flow rack 10. A second
end 20b of each flow rail 20 is attached adjacent to the back end
14 of the flow rack 10. The second end 20b is elevated with respect
to the first end 20a.
Still referring to FIG. 1, each flow rail 20 includes a channel 22.
A plurality of rollers 24 are movably mounted in each channel 22
and a flow stop 26 is pivotally mounted in each channel 22. The
flow stop 26 is positioned adjacent to the back end 14 of the flow
rack 10. The flow stop 26 is biased to a stop position S.
A plurality of containers, FIG. 2, are carried by at least two
adjacent flow rails 20. A lead container 28 is positioned at the
front end 12 of the flow rack 10. The lead container 28 is engaged
under the force of gravity against a retention member 30 that is
attached to the support member 18 adjacent to the first end 20a of
each flow rail 20. One or more reserve containers 32 may be
positioned between the lead container 28 and the back end 14 of the
flow rack 10.
When loading a container onto the flow rails 20 from the back end
14 of the flow rack 10, the stop 26 pivots from the stop position
S, FIG. 1, to a flow position F, FIG. 2. The stop 26 is maintained
in the flow position F by the container as the container travels
toward the front end 12. Once the container passes beyond the stop
26, the flow stop 26 returns to the stop position S.
When the lead container 28 needs to be removed from the flow rack
10, it must be moved toward the back end 14 of the flow rack 10 to
release it from its engagement with the retention member 30, FIG.
3. To this end, any reserve containers 32 must also be moved toward
the back end 14. The stop 26 is biased to the stop position S, FIG.
3, such that it engages the adjacent reserve container 32 to limit
the distance that it can travel toward the back end 14. By limiting
the distance that the containers can be moved toward the back end
14, the potential for one or more reserve of the containers 32 to
fall from the back end 14 while releasing the lead container 28 is
greatly reduced.
An embodiment of a flow rail is illustrated in FIG. 4. The channel
22 includes two opposing walls 34 and a base wall 36 attached
between the opposing walls 34. The base wall 36 defines a closed
end 38 of the channel 22 opposite an open end 40. A plurality of
opposed saddles 42 are formed adjacent to the open end 40 in each
one of the opposing walls 34 along the length of the channel
22.
The stop 26 is pivotally mounted within the channel 22. The stop 26
includes a stop arm 44, FIG. 4, that extends above the channel 22
at a height hs when arm 44 is in the stop position S. In one
embodiment, the height hs may be approximately 1.0 inch. In other
embodiments, the height hs may be more or less than 1.0 inch
depending on the specific needs of the application.
A pair of opposed pins 47 are attached to the stop 26. The opposed
pins 47 are received in respective opposed saddles 42. A rotation
limiter 48 is attached adjacent to a first side of the stop arm 44
and a weighted portion 50 is attached adjacent to a second side of
the stop arm 44. The stop 26 may be formed using manufacturing
methods such as machining, investment casting, forging, extrusion,
injection molding, and other suitable methods of manufacture. The
stop arm 44, weighted portion 50, pins 47 and the rotation limiter
48 may be integrally or separately formed.
The weighted portion 50 is positioned with respect to the pins 47
to bias the stop 26 to the stop position S. Upon sufficient
rotation of the stop 26 toward the flow position F, FIG. 2, the
rotation limiter 48 engages base wall 36 to limit the rotation of
the stop 26. The stop 26 is positioned with the weighted portion 50
facing toward the back end 14 of the flow rack 10. The weight of
the weighted portion 50 must be sufficient to bias the stop 26 to
the stop position S, FIG. 4, yet allow the stop 26 to pivot freely
to the flow position F,
Each roller 24 includes a wheel portion 52, FIG. 4, and a pair of
opposed pins 54 attached to each wheel portion 52. The opposed pins
54 of each roller 24 are received in respective opposed saddles 42.
Each roller 24 extends above the channel 22 at a height hr, FIG. 5.
The height hr of the roller 24 is less than the height hs of the
stop arm 44. However, when the stop arm 44 is in the flow position
F, FIG. 5, arm 44 extends above the channel 22 at a height hf,
which is the same or less than the height hr which each roller 24
extends above the channel 22. In this manner, when arm 44 is in the
flow position F, there is no interference with a container
remaining engaged with the rollers 24.
One embodiment provides a flow rail including an elongated channel
with a plurality of rollers movably mounted in the channel. A
portion of each roller extends above the channel at a first height.
A reverse flow stop including a stop arm is pivotally mounted in
the channel for movement between a stop position and a flow
position. A weighted portion is attached to the stop for
automatically biasing the stop to the stop position whereby the
stop arm extends above the channel at a second height. The second
height is greater than the first height.
Another embodiment provides a flow rack including a frame with a
plurality of elongated channels attached to the frame. Each one of
the channels includes two spaced apart sides and a base wall
extending between the sides. A plurality of rollers is movably
mounted in each one of the channels. A portion of each roller
extends above the respective channel at a first height. A reverse
flow stop including a stop arm is pivotally mounted within each
channel for movement between a stop position and a flow position. A
weighted portion is attached to each stop for automatically biasing
the respective stop to the stop position whereby the stop arm
extends above the respective channel at a second height. The second
height is greater than the first height.
A further embodiment provides a method of limiting flow on a flow
rail in a reverse direction. The method includes movably mounting a
plurality of rollers in an elongated channel with a portion of each
roller extending above the channel at a first height. A reverse
flow stop having a stop arm is pivotally mounted in the channel
such that the stop is movable between a stop position and a flow
position. A weighted portion is attached to the stop for
automatically biasing the stop to the stop position whereby the
stop arm extends above the channel at a second height, greater than
the first height.
As it can be seen, the embodiments presented herein provide several
advantages. One advantage is that the existing flow rails may be
retrofitted with the reverse flow stops. Another advantage is that
no modification is required to existing flow rails for installation
and operation of the reverse flow stops. Yet another advantage is
that the reverse flow stops are operable using the force of
gravity. A further advantage is that the cost of the reverse flow
stops is nominal with respect to the overall cost of the flow rack
and with respect to the cost of many of the items carried on flow
rails.
Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a
wide range of modification, change and substitution is contemplated
in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of
the embodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of
other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended
claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the
scope of the embodiments disclosed herein.
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